Checking in with Sheriff Lesnik

"...when you get down to it, we are in a small county, we all have the same goal, trying to do what is best for the county and what is right for the county."-Sheriff Lesnik

In interviewing Sheriff Lesnik, I hope to convey to the public the reality of his elected office and reveal who Sheriff Lesnik is as a person. Sheriff Lesnik and I had previously been acquainted with each other, Sheriff Lesnik; however, I have never conversed with him individually. Different projects packed his office. Our meeting was also his lunch break, and I got the impression that most of his lunches are working lunches.

I began by asking him what the most challenging task as sheriff has been. He explained that conveying information to the public about what law enforcement can and cannot do is often his most challenging task. "Oftentimes, the public turns to law enforcement as the wrench that fits every job." The public often wants the sheriff's department to be involved in civil issues, not a criminal question, such as a judgment on a fence dispute. "I do not have the authority to do that." "They should turn to a civil lawyer, and the court will decide, or just have a cup of coffee with your neighbor" (and work it out), he suggests. "We try to intercede as much as we can." We discussed some things out of their legal authority, but they are trying to help keep peace where they can. Sadly, Musselshell county has had a homicide over an easement dispute some years back.

Sheriff Lesnik explained that he is a Sheriff's office, not a department because his position is elected. The team working for his office is under his employ. He has a team that includes himself, the undersheriff, the sergeant, his deputies, a detention officer, a court compliance officer, and an administrative assistant. The dispatch center does not fall under the scope of the sheriff's office, the EMS Director hires and supervises the dispatch employees. Sheriff Lesnik is hoping to run again for one more term. He has set goals for the office that he is hoping to have completed during this time.

One of the goals he has set is for the office to have new softwaret that tracks policy changes. The reason for this kind of updating is to keep his team current on future policy changes that are continually happening. They currently use a binder handbook, and new policies are put in the book as they come in. Using software as new policy updates come in the software can send alerts out. As each individual reads the update, a timestamp records the acknowledgment in real-time. A timestamp of that acknowledgment is verified. This software also includes training in regards to new policies and how to apply the new system. The software can be tweaked to fit the needs of our county. For example, the procedure on a pursuit in Musselshell county may not look the same as the policy on a pursuit for Yellowstone County.

Sheriff Lesnik's office has also purchased defibrillators for each patrol car. Often the officers are the first ones on the scene of an accident or emergency. The defibrillators can potentially save many lives.

Another goal Sheriff Lesnik has is updated operating system software. The current system has not been updated in years.. They continue to raise the price on this system without improving the quality. The price has now come to the point that it is not worth the quality. It also contains many items that do not pertain to our small population. The sheriff's office already has the funds available for the new system, which will be more app-based. They will only have to purchase the apps that apply to the needs in our county. The other benefit to the new system is the interaction it will have with other counties that use the same software. For example, if a ticket was issued in Lake County, and that same person is stopped in our county, all the information would come up from the ticket in Lake county, saving the officers time.

Sheriff Lesnik is having his court compliance officer go through old case files and scanning them. One of the difficulties he is facing is running out of room for case files and evidence. He is looking to purchase two Conex containers with solar power to secure old case files and evidence.

The sheriff's office was built around 1913. It cannot be replaced or modernized because of federal standards for supervision that our county cannot meet. In particular, to have a new or modernized building, the office would have to employ seven to ten full-time detention officers to watch as few as one inmate. This would be impossible to do within the current budget. We are fortunate to have a jail still here, as many small counties do not and have to ship their inmates elsewhere.

One of the frustrations that Sheriff Lesnik has is that he wants to have more time to communicate with the public. "One of the biggest complaints is not having pictures of my officers. People do not know who is working here anymore. I need to put their photo up on Facebook and introduce them." He says.

We discussed the changes he sees in the county. He felt that the demographics in the south portion of the county are changing as he is seeing many retirees moving into the 20-acre parcels and putting in new homes. He also believes we may see Roundup become more of a bedroom community for Billings.

I asked the sheriff about his working relationship with the county commissioners if it was good. He declared, " YES, I have an excellent working relationship with them. I am not going to say that their politics and my politics are the same. Still, when you get down to it, we are in a small county, we all have the same goal, trying to do what is best for the county and what is right for the county." He further mentioned the problematic situation that the current commissioners had to work with once they were elected. "The situation they were handed was out of their control (Budget). People saw their taxes go up and didn't understand why, and why the state recommended that. We had NO IDEA how much money the county had." "The bookkeeping was so bad that they had to audit. The state of Montana passed legislation that the state cannot run in the red, nor can the counties. The reality was, without knowing what your starting point was, the state with an abundance of caution, required that the county had enough money to make it through the fiscal year." He believes we are now in good standing fiscally. He hopes that the community will see a significant reduction in mills this year, followed by the next year. He finally stated, "There are good communication and common goals within our county team."

Sheriff Lesnik wants to convey his thanks to the community for their support. And to those who have gone above and beyond with their kindness. He mentioned that McClearys brought pizza for the officers. The Coke distributor has brought Coke for them. Others have dropped off donuts and cupcakes. These things have been an encouragement during the disheartening current nationwide events surrounding George Floyd. He stated, "It has been really hard on all our upstanding law enforcement to watch what happened to Mr. Floyd. He was without doubt murdered. To get lumped into that category is difficult. We consider ourselves caretakers of those we arrest. The second I put cuffs on someone, I am their caretaker no matter what they have tried to do to me up to that point." Sheriff Lesnik asked that I would publicly convey his thanks to his hardworking deputies. He informed me that without them, he would not be able to do any of this.